Job 38-42

International Children’s Bible

² “Who is this that makes my purpose unclear
    by saying things that are not true?
³ Be strong like a man.
    I will ask you questions,
    and you must answer me.
⁴ Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off how big it should be?
    Surely you know!
⁶ What were the earth’s foundations set on?
    Or who put its cornerstone in place?
⁷ Who did all this while the morning stars sang together?
    Who did this while the angels shouted with joy?

⁸ “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
    when it broke through and was born?
⁹ This was when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea.
    And I wrapped the sea in dark clouds.
¹⁰ It was when I put limits on the sea.
    And I put its doors and bars in place.
¹¹ It was when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther.
    This is where your proud waves must stop.’

¹² “Have you ever given orders for morning to begin?
    Or have you shown the dawn where its place was?
¹³ The dawn takes hold of earth by its edges
    and shakes evil people out of it.
¹⁴ At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal.
    The hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
¹⁵ Light is not given to evil people.
    Their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ever gone to where the sea begins?
    Or have you walked in the valleys under the sea?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been opened to you?
    Or have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
¹⁸ Do you understand the great width of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know all these things.

¹⁹ “What is the path to light’s home?
    And where does darkness live?
²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
    Do you know the way to their homes?
²¹ Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened!
    Have you lived that many years?

²² “Have you ever gone into the storehouse where snow is kept?
    Or have you seen the storehouses for hail?
²³ I save the snow and hail for times of trouble.
    I save them for days of war and battle.
²⁴ How do you get to the place where light comes from?
    Or where is the place from which the east winds are scattered over the earth?
²⁵ Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains?
    And who sets a path for the thunderstorm to follow?
²⁶ Who waters the land where no one lives?
    Who waters the desert that has no one in it?
²⁷ Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land
    so the grass begins to grow?
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
    Who is father to the drops of dew?
²⁹ Who is the mother of the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the sky?
³⁰ The waters become hard as stone.
    Even the surface of the deep ocean is frozen.

³¹ “Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
³² Can you bring out the stars at the right times?
    Or can you lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws of the sky?
    Can you understand their rule over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you shout an order to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?
³⁵ Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
    Do the flashes of lightning report to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who put wisdom inside the mind?
    Or who put understanding in the heart?
³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can pour water from the jars of heaven?
³⁸ Who can do this when the dust becomes hard
    and the clumps of dirt stick together?

³⁹ “Do you hunt food for the female lion
    to satisfy the hunger of the young lions?
⁴⁰ Do you hunt for them while they lie in their dens
    or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
⁴¹ Who gives food to the birds
    when their young cry out to God?
    And who gives them food when they wander about without any?

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you watch when the deer gives birth to her fawn?
² Do you count the months until they give birth?
    Do you know when the time is right for them to give birth?
³ They lie down, and their young are born.
    Then the pain of giving birth is over.
⁴ Their young ones grow and become strong in the wild country.
    Then they leave their homes and do not come back.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkey go free?
    Who untied his ropes?
⁶ I am the one who gave the donkey the desert as his home.
    I gave him the desert lands as a place to live.
⁷ The wild donkey laughs at the confusion in the city.
    He does not hear the drivers shout.
⁸ He roams the hills looking for pasture.
    And he looks for anything green to eat.

⁹ “Will the wild ox agree to serve you?
    Will he stay by your feeding box at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold him to the plowed row with a harness?
    Will he plow the valleys for you?
¹¹ Will you depend on the wild ox for his great strength?
    Will you leave your heavy work for him to do?
¹² Can you trust the ox to bring in your grain?
    Will he gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap happily.
    But the ostrich’s wings are not as beautiful as the feathers of the stork.
¹⁴ The ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand.
¹⁵ She does not stop to think that a foot might step on them and crush them.
    She does not care that some animal might walk on them.
¹⁶ The ostrich is cruel to her young, as if they were not even hers.
    She does not care that her work is for nothing.
¹⁷ This is because God did not give the ostrich wisdom.
    God did not give her a share of good sense.
¹⁸ But when the ostrich gets up to run, she is so fast
    that she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Job, are you the one who gives the horse his strength?
    Or do you put a flowing mane on his neck?
²⁰ Do you make the horse jump like a locust?
    He scares people with his proud snorting.
²¹ He paws wildly, enjoying his strength.
    And he charges into the battle.
²² He laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing.
    He will not run away from the sword.
²³ The bag of arrows rattles against the horse’s side.
    It is there with the flashing spears.
²⁴ With great excitement, the horse races over the ground.
    He cannot stand still when he hears the trumpet.
²⁵ When the trumpet blows, the horse snorts, ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle from far away.
    He hears the thunder of commanders and the shouts of battle.

²⁶ “Is it through your wisdom that the hawk flies?
    Is this why he spreads his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Are you the one that commands the eagle to fly
    and build his nest so high?
²⁸ The eagle lives on a high cliff and stays there at night.
    The rocky peak is his protected place.
²⁹ From there he looks for his food.
    His eyes can see it from far away.
³⁰ His young eat blood.
    And where there is something dead, the eagle is there.”

² “Will the person who argues with God All-Powerful correct him?
    Let the person who accuses God answer him!”

⁴ “I am not worthy. I cannot answer you anything.
    I will put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I spoke one time, but I will not answer again.
    I even spoke two times, but I will say nothing more.”

⁷ “Be strong, like a man.
    I will ask you questions.
    And you must answer me.
⁸ Would you say that I am unfair?
    Would you blame me to make yourself look right?
⁹ Are you as strong as God?
    And can your voice thunder like his?
¹⁰ If so, then decorate yourself with glory and beauty.
    And put on honor and greatness as if they were clothing.
¹¹ Let your great anger punish.
    Look at everyone who is proud and make him feel unimportant.
¹² Look at everyone who is proud and bring him under your control.
    Crush the wicked wherever they are.
¹³ Bury them all in the dirt together.
    Cover their faces in the grave.
¹⁴ If you can do that, then I myself will praise you
    because you are strong enough to save yourself.

¹⁵ “Look at Behemoth.^[a]
    I made him just as I made you.
    He eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Look at the strength he has in his body.
    The muscles of his stomach are powerful!
¹⁷ His tail extends like a cedar tree.
    The muscles of his thighs are woven together.
¹⁸ His bones are like tubes of bronze metal.
    His legs are like bars of iron.
¹⁹ He is one of the first of God’s works.
    But God, his Maker, can destroy him.
²⁰ The hills, where the wild animals play,
    provide food for him.
²¹ He lies under the lotus plants
    hidden by the tall grass in the swamp.
²² The lotus plants hide him in their shadow.
    The poplar trees by the streams surround him.
²³ If the river floods, he will not be afraid.
    He is not afraid even if the Jordan River rushes to his mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone blind his eyes and capture him?
    Can anyone put hooks in his nose?

41 “Can you catch Leviathan^[b] on a fishhook?
    Or can you tie his tongue down with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through his nose
    or put a hook in his jaw?
³ Will he keep begging you for mercy?
    Will he speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will he make an agreement with you?
    Will he let you take him as your slave for life?
⁵ Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird?
    Or can you put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶ Will traders try to bargain with you for him?
    Will they divide him up among the traders?
⁷ Can you stick him with darts until his skin is full of them?
    Or can you fill his head with fishing spears?
⁸ If you put one hand on him,
    you will never forget the battle.
    And you will never do it again!
⁹ There is no hope of defeating him.
    Just seeing him overwhelms people.
¹⁰ No one is brave enough to make him angry.
    So who would be able to stand up against me?
¹¹ No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back.
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹² “I can silence his bragging.
    I can silence his brave words and powerful arguments.
¹³ No one can tear off his outer hide.
    No one can poke through his double armor.
¹⁴ No one can force open his great jaws.
    There are frightening teeth all around his jaws.
¹⁵ He has rows of shields on his back.
    They are tightly sealed together.
¹⁶ Each shield is so close to the next one
    that no air can go between them.
¹⁷ They are joined strongly to one another.
    They hold on to each other and cannot be broken apart.
¹⁸ When he snorts, flashes of light are thrown out.
    His eyes look like the light at dawn.
¹⁹ Flames blaze from his mouth.
    Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours out of his nose
    as if coming from a large pot over a hot fire.
²¹ His breath sets coals on fire.
    And flames come out of his mouth.
²² There is great strength in his neck.
    People are afraid and run away from him.
²³ The folds of his skin are tightly joined.
    They are set and cannot be moved.
²⁴ His chest is as hard as a rock.
    It is as hard as a stone used to grind grain.
²⁵ Powerful creatures fear his terrible looks.
    They draw back in fear as he moves.
²⁶ The sword that hits him does not hurt him.
    The darts and spears, small and large, do not hurt him.
²⁷ He treats iron as if it were straw.
    And he treats bronze metal as if it were rotten wood.
²⁸ He does not run away from arrows.
    Stones from slings are like chaff to him.
²⁹ Clubs feel like pieces of straw to him.
    And he laughs when they shake a spear at him.
³⁰ The underside of his body is like broken pieces of pottery.
    It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing board.
³¹ He makes the deep sea bubble like a boiling pot.
    And he stirs up the sea like a pot of oil.
³² When he swims, he leaves a shining path in the water.
    It makes the sea look as if it had white hair.
³³ Nothing else on earth is equal to him.
    He is a creature without fear.
³⁴ He looks down on all those who are too proud.
    He is king over all proud creatures.”

² “I know that you can do all things.
    No plan of yours can be ruined.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this that made my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?’
    Surely I talked about things I did not understand.
    I spoke of things too wonderful for me to know.
⁴ You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.
    I will ask you questions.
    And you must answer me.’
⁵ My ears had heard of you before.
    But now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ So now I hate myself.
    I will change my heart and life and sit in the dust and ashes.”